Lullaby for My Little Insomniac
by I've Been a Labrat
Summary: David Xavier has nightmares quite often, though this time his father isn't nearby to comfort him. Thankfully, the Master of Magnetism knows just how to make him feel better.


_I'd like to thank NotMarge, TheDeductionist, meriland25, _TheAlabasterPhoenyx, _and HwGenius for leaving reviews. __I'd also like to thank charlie7694, missmarvelgirl, ObsessiveSherlockian, ArielSprite, and Autobot Firekat for favoriting. You guys are the best!_

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><p><em><strong>Bern, Switzerland, 1963<strong>_

David had nightmares quite often. Almost every night, sometimes twice in one night. There'd been one time he had four nightmares, but that had been when he was sick and his fever was so high he'd landed in the hospital. He'd wondered why Mum had taken him to a doctor, since she didn't like him and didn't care if he got hurt, usually. Maybe it was because Daddy had been visiting, and so he convinced her to take David to a doctor. He was glad, because Daddy always wanted him to be safe and not sick. He remembered Daddy staying with him, though the memory was vague and blurry, and Daddy's voice was muffled, like David was underwater.

Now, though, Daddy was in another room. They were in a big house, somewhere David had never been before. Daddy told him they were in Switzerland, though he had no idea what or where that was. There were so many strange people with him and Daddy and Aunt Raven. There was Emma, who wore white all the time and she had pretty blonde hair that he wanted to touch, but was afraid of what would happen if he did, because Emma didn't seem to like him. Then there was Azazel, who had red skin and a _tail_. A real, live tail. It was so cool, and David wanted to grab it, but he was afraid again, because he couldn't tell if Azazel liked him, or anybody, really. There was Janos, who wore a purple suit and he hardly said anything. He seemed like he might be nice, but since neither he nor David talked much, they didn't really interact.

Angel was pretty. She had fairy wings like he'd heard from storybooks, and she looked like a doll, if there were dolls who looked like her. All the dolls David had seen had really pale skin and brown or blonde hair. The only downside to Angel was she didn't really seem to care about him, which was discouraging. And, of course, there was Daddy and Aunt Raven. Daddy looked the same as always, loved him just the same, though he was in a chair with wheels and Daddy seemed sad when he looked down at the chair he sat in. He tried to hide it, David knew, but he couldn't hide everything. Aunt Raven was… well, before, he hadn't really seen her like she was now. She was all blue, and she had some scales on different parts of her body, and her eyes were yellow and her hair was bright red. To David, she was beautiful. He'd always been told by his mother and stepfather that he should be ashamed of his eyes, because they were different colors, and his hair, which was blue without him having to do anything to it. So Aunt Raven, being what she told him was "natural," was amazing to him.

And then there was Erik.

Erik was scary, to be honest. Azazel didn't look so bad, though he'd been scared at first because Mum had told him he was a spawn of Satan once and when he'd asked what that was, he'd been shown a picture of devils and demons, which was what Azazel looked like. But Erik… he didn't particularly look like anyone scary. It was just what David saw in his eyes that scared him. He wouldn't meet Erik's eyes after the first time, when he was introduced, and he always found a reason to run from the room if Erik was inside. He wasn't scared of Erik the way he was scared of Mum. But he was definitely still scared of him. Daddy seemed to have strange feelings toward Erik, and David couldn't help but catch things, sharing such a close mental link with Daddy. He was angry, and sad, and yet he was still happy. It confused David to no end.

Everyone in the house had special powers, like David knew his family did. Emma could read minds too, but she could also turn into a big walking diamond. Angel could fly, but he'd also seen she could spit fireball loogie things. Azazel could disappear from one spot and reappear in a new spot, what Daddy told him was "teleporting." Janos could make tornadoes, though he didn't know if that was what it was, because David had never seen a tornado before. But he was pretty sure they were tornadoes. And Erik… Erik could move anything metal, like forks and knives and doorknobs and lamps. He would have thought it cool and awesome, if he weren't so afraid of Erik.

David rubbed his eyes, wishing Daddy was here with him so he could hum a little song and cajole him back to sleep like he usually did. But Daddy was in a different bedroom, and he couldn't remember which room it was because he always got mixed up since everywhere looked the same in the house, so he couldn't go find him. Whining a little, he squeezed his eyes shut and put his hands over his ears, whispering in his head making him feel sick. He had to get out of the room, just for a little bit. Maybe he could go outside, if he was really careful so no one saw him. He never got to go outside at night, not when he lived with Mum, but now he wanted to because no one was telling him not to.

Kicking off the covers, he grabbed his rabbit, Eleanor, and slowly crept to the door, ready to bolt back to bed if he thought someone was about to walk in. When no one did, David opened the door as quietly as he could, poking his head out and looking both ways down the hall. He chose to go right, because he liked going right instead of left, and walked as silently as possible in bare feet. Heel, toe, heel toe, heel toe. He'd learned how to do it so he could sneak past Mum, and he hoped no one had better hearing so they wouldn't know he was out of his room. He looked out the window at the end of the hall, startling when he heard a rumbling sound, but when he whirled around, he saw Azazel.

Why was Azazel sleeping in the hallway? David frowned when he realized the rumbling was just Azazel snoring… deafeningly. Shrugging, he turned and continued down the hall, walking down a flight of stairs that made him nervous because there weren't any rails. He walked past the door, but when he realized it and turned back, he came face to face with Erik.

David gulped, eyes wide as he clutched Eleanor and looked up at Erik, meeting his eyes for the first time since they'd met.

Erik gazed down at him, considering for a long moment before asking softly, "What are you doing out of bed, kleiner?"

David couldn't find any words in his brain, paralyzed with fear. What would Erik do? Would David be hit again? Daddy had promised him it would never happen now he wasn't with Mum, but maybe Daddy had only been able to promise _he_ wouldn't hit David, but he couldn't guarantee it with anyone else. That seemed most likely. After all, he was a bad child.

Frowning, Erik reached out a hand to David, causing him to flinch, before he gently ruffled David's blue hair. "Can't sleep?"

Shocked he hadn't been hit, just… had his hair mussed, David risked a glance up at the tall, imposing man before him, nodding a little.

"Nightmare?"

He nodded again, a little stronger this time, hoping he wasn't in trouble.

He was floored when Erik gave him a smile. "I have something to fix that."

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><p>The small telepath sniffed the air appreciatively, standing on tiptoes to see above the counter to the stovetop, where Erik was making hot chocolate for him. He only got that when he was with Daddy in Oxford, so it excited him to get it now, especially from the man who was previously one of his biggest fears. But…<p>

Well, Erik wasn't so bad after all. He just seemed really scary. But he ruffled David's hair again, and he made him hot chocolate, and he asked about David's nightmare like he cared.

"I… I thought…" David mumbled, embarrassed. He'd never been good with using words, because Daddy and Aunt Raven always knew exactly what he wanted or what he was trying to articulate. But Erik didn't know, so he had to try to talk. It was so hard, always so hard. Squeezing the rabbit in his arms, he started to begin again, but the words died on his lips and he resisted the urge to throw himself down on the floor to cry. He was frustrated that he couldn't speak, and he was embarrassed because he knew he wasn't like he should be for boys his age.

"Was it about your mother?" Erik asked quietly, and when he looked down at David, his eyes were gentle.

David nodded, relieved beyond even mental words that Erik understood. "Yeah," he answered, unconsciously gripping Erik's pant leg with one hand and leaning against him. He wasn't supposed to suck his thumb, Daddy told him, according to someone named Dr. Spock, but David didn't realize he did it most of the time anyway, and now was no exception.

They were quiet for a few moments, though Erik didn't really break the soothing atmosphere when he spoke again. His voice was soft when he talked to David, unlike when he heard Erik talking to other people, the adults. "You're safe here. None of us would allow harm to come to you." Erik grew silent again before adding, his voice terse, "Especially not from the woman who was supposed to take care of you." He poured the freshly made hot chocolate into a mug, carrying it over to the table and setting it down. David was reluctant to let go of Erik, but he did because he was supposed to, and he pulled the chair out so he could sit. It wasn't sitting, really, because he kneeled instead so he could reach what was on the table. Reaching out for the mug, he took a sip, wary of the temperature and relieved to find it wasn't terribly hot.

He did, however, notice there were two ice cubes floating in the drink, which explained why it wasn't as hot as he'd expected. Daddy must've told Erik at some point about putting ice cubes in the hot chocolate so David could drink it. He looked up at Erik again, who had sat down across from him. David gave him a shy smile in thanks, and Erik seemed to understand, because he smiled back.

"You're the most silent child I've met," Erik informed him, smiling so David would recognize it wasn't a reprimand, rather a compliment. "It's rather nice. When your father told me you would be staying with us, I'll admit, I was skeptical. But… you're quiet and you're not destructive."

David smiled into the mug, taking another drink. He mulled over the words gathering his head, trying to get the phrasing just right so he wouldn't mess up. He took a deep breath, trying to muster enough courage to say what he wanted to, and hoped his voice didn't sound funny, like Mum had always told him it did. "Daddy likes having you for a friend."

Erik's face changed, something David recognized as… sad. Extremely sad. He also seemed a little surprised, though David couldn't tell for sure because Erik's face was so morose and defeated looking, the emotions rolling off him confirming David's assessment. Perhaps he wasn't too bad at reading people after all, but no, the doctors had said he wasn't good at it. Maybe he could do it occasionally, because he could tell what people's emotions were, and then it was just guesswork. Hard guesswork, but still.

"Does he?" Erik questioned, voice barely above a whisper.

David wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded and hoped it would make Erik feel better. Look less horribly sad.

"Hm," the man replied, looking off into at the walls in the corner. Adults always got that look on their faces, always looking off at something. David didn't really mind, because he didn't like to meet people's eyes usually, but he did wonder why adults always told him to look at them in a conversation, but then they'd start staring off at something else. But adults didn't make much sense to him, like when their eyes rolled up to look at the ceiling. He could never figure out what was so much more interesting in the corner or on the ceiling, but he tried his best to see what it was. So far, he'd had no luck.

Erik blinked, eyes going back to David's face, and he managed a smile. The sadness faded from his face, though it only dulled a little in his mind. But David was glad he felt a little better than before. "Does the…" Erik peered closer, "Rabbit have a name?"

David looked down at Eleanor, thinking hard. What if Erik laughed at him like Mum had? Then again… Erik had made him hot chocolate and ruffled his hair, neither which Mum had ever done. He decided to risk it, because he had a feeling Erik wouldn't laugh. "Eleanor," he whispered, trying to make his voice a little louder, but wary of doing so at the same time because sometimes his voice was too loud.

"Where did you get the name?" Erik inquired.

"Um…" He said, working hard to gather up the right words from his brain and spit them out of his mouth. "Like… like Eleanor… Roosevelt," he finished softly, reminded of when Daddy had read him the story about Eleanor Roosevelt. He'd called it a "biography" and it was interesting. She was the wife of a president, which David knew was important. He'd particularly liked hearing about her flight with a Tuskegee airman, though mostly it was because the name Tuskegee was fun to repeat in his head.

"Ah," Erik replied, eyes gentle again instead of sad, "That's a good namesake."

David gave him another shy smile, proud Erik liked the name for his rabbit. He took another drink of hot chocolate, disappointed when he found the mug empty. Erik took the mug and scrubbed it out in the sink before putting it away in the cupboard. Approaching the small boy at the table, he put a hand on David's shoulder.

"Back to bed?"

He'd almost forgotten he had a nightmare, he felt so much better around Erik. However, he felt a little frightened about going back to his room and staying there alone. Torn between shaking his head and agreeing, David gave Erik a scared look, hoping he would understand.

They found themselves in the living room, David tucked into Erik's side under a blanket, with a book open in one of Erik's hands. He read Dr. Seuss almost as well as Daddy, which endeared David to him even more. "A train! A train! Could you, would you, on a train?" Erik glanced at David, whose eyelids were steadily drooping. "Not on a train! Not in a tree! Not in a car! Sam! Let me be!" The boy was now asleep, there was no doubting it, and Erik closed the book… not without looking at the rest of the page, first. As far as he was concerned, the narrator was old and crotchety, and Sam was an annoying bastard, so he could hardly see the appeal of the book to young children. David had picked it out, though, so he'd dutifully read it. Setting the book aside, Erik picked David up carefully, making sure not to disturb the boy, and carried him to his room. Covering him up with the blanket, Erik looked around to be sure everything was in order, and smiled a little at the sleeping boy. So innocent, despite what he'd been through. Tucking the rabbit, Eleanor, under David's arm, Erik gave one last look to the child before leaving the room.

_You do not like them, so you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say._

_Sam, if you will let me be, I will try them. You will see… Say, I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am! I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am!_


End file.
